Border to Coast Pensions Partnership, Leeds, England, will be looking for fund managers to invest £4 billion ($5.2 billion) in a second round of private markets commitments that will bring the program to nearly £10 billion, the public-sector pension pool said Thursday.
The first round that began in May 2019, Series 1, saw commitments of £5.7 billion, split between £2.5 billion in infrastructure; £1.7 billion in private equity and £1.5 billion in private credit, according to spokeswoman Louise Hill.
The first tranche of Series 2 commitments will be invested over the next year and will include £1.03 billion in infrastructure, £705 million in private equity, and £985 million in private credit.
There is also a £1.35 billion climate opportunities offering that will be deployed over the next three years. It will target private market investments offering a material positive impact on climate change and supporting long-term net zero carbon emission goals. The investments will focus on sectors including clean energy, technology, transport, industrial production, agriculture and carbon sequestration, Border to Coast said in a news release.
Border to Coast might also extend some Series 1 contracts, Ms. Hill said in an interview.
One of the U.K.'s largest public-sector pension pools, Border to Coast is owned by 11 local government pension funds, with combined assets of £55 billion. The pension funds are Bedfordshire, Cumbria, Durham, East Riding, Lincolnshire, North Yorkshire, Surrey, South Yorkshire, Teesside, Tyne and Wear, and Warwickshire.
Pension funds participating in Series 2 are Bedfordshire, Cumbria, Durham, East Riding, North Yorkshire, Surrey, South Yorkshire, Teesside, Tyne and Wear and Warwickshire.
The private markets program was designed to give the partner funds more investment options, including co-investments. Mark Lyon, head of internal management at Border to Coast, said in the release that the private markets program "is highly valued by our partner funds and is a key part of our offering."
In September 2021, Border to Coast committed to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across its investment portfolios by 2050 or sooner. The commitment included creating and evolving investment propositions aligned with net-zero emissions by 2050 and facilitating increased investment in climate transition solutions, it said at the time.
